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Year 2 Day 39
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:14-15 Message - Alan Burke Today we think of what it is to repent and believe the gospel. Let’s start with repent, it means to renounce. That’s not a word that we use very often today but when we renounce something we declare that is not ours. Repentance is to renounce our sin in favour of the kingdom of God and it is not a momentary thing, that one night in the hall, or when we were 15, repentance is an on going continual response to the gospel, repentance is on going as we seek to die to self and to live for Christ, as we learn to obey all that Christ has taught. Jesus preaches repentance, it calls us to recognise of our guilt and sin. For that is our human condition, we may not want to see it that way but, we are sinners, each and everyone of us, unless we repent of it then there can be no salvation. Today though we dare not mention sin, it is a word that has no place in Britain in the 21st century unless it’s an MP fiddling their expenses, but sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God (1 John 3:4). Each and everyone of us is sinful and we need to repent. This message of repentance is one that we all need to hear, it needs to be proclaimed, it was the message Jesus brought and we are to likewise take out. This is the first command of the gospel or Mark, we are told here is to repent. Repent because of the arrival of the Kingdom of God in order to enter than kingdom. Literally this is to turn from, to change ones mind set, to change our fundamental attitudes and outlooks on life. This is an about turn, a 180 degree change that is a total transformation in our orientation. But repentance is not an end in itself, for with repentance goes belief, we are to believe. For we are to from our sin, to renounced it and to believe in Jesus Christ crucified living in response to what he has done, obeying the gospel. If you say that you believe, but there are no substantial changes in your life, in your attitude to sin, then you had better consider carefully whether you truly believe. The urgency of this call remains, repent and believe, "The kingdom of God is near. The time has come.” And as we repent and believe, as we understand the gospel in its narrow sense as well as its broad sense we are able to live more and more as ambassadors, citizens of heaven, as the children of living God, making the ‘invisible kingdom visible’ in this world of darkness. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q50 What is required in the second commandment? The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word. (Deut. 32:46, Matt. 28:20, Acts 2:42)
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Year 2 Day 38
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 16v11-15 Message - Scott Woodburn Paul's desire to preach the Gospel in Asia was silenced by the Lord. Instead he was to travel into Europe and take the Gospel to a land appointed by the Lord. We can sometimes be frustrated when our own plans do not come to fruition. We often believe that we have the right answers and the right ways and of course we are never wrong! Thankfully the Lord forgives our ignorance and always ensures that His purposes come to pass. Instead of Asia, Paul and his group are in Philippi. Philippi was named after Alexander the Great's father and was a distinctly Roman city. Paul travels to the riverside on the Sabbath day to pray but soon engages some local women in conversation (v13). We have no record of the chat but one woman called Lydia finds herself listening to everything said by Paul (v14). Lydia was from Thyatira, a Greek city in present day Turkey. She was also a seller of purple goods, indicating that she was involved in the cloth industry for the wealthy. In Paul's day purple may have been your favourite colour but only those of wealth could afford such garments. Luke tells us that Lydia was also a religious woman. She was a worshipper of God which suggests that she had some regard for the Lord without converting to Judaism. Suddenly in the life of one woman we see God's sovereign plan come into play. The Lord opens Lydia's heart to pay attention to Paul and soon she is converted to the Christian faith (v15). More than that she provides the evangelists with a base of operations, insisting that they stay at her house. The Lord is no fool and His paths are never fruitless. The Gospel enters into Europe and by the riverside Lydia drinks from the water of life. As people we always want to know what the future holds. We make plans and spreadsheets and we check every angle kidding ourselves that our ways are right and they will come to pass. Brothers and sisters, we plan in ignorance. We do not have all the answers and we cannot know all of the outcomes. Instead as we walk by faith and not by sight, we trust the all knowing God to always do what is right. His Word never returns unto Him void and He will accomplish all that He purposes. How can we respond to such truth? Andrew Bonar, a Presbyterian minister of the 1800s, still speaks "Never be perplexed as to the next step; that is the Lord's work." Amen. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q49 Which is the second commandment? The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Year 2 Day 37
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:14-15 Message - Alan Burke Have you got a piece of paper handy, if so I’m going to give you four words and write them down then put beside them a definition of what they mean. The four words are, ‘gospel’, ‘kingdom’, ‘repent’ and ‘believe’. Now that you have done that we are going to think about them and what they mean as Jesus came proclaiming the gospel the good news, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel (good news)!”. These four words, are so important for us to understand and what they mean for our lives, we will think what ‘gospel’, ‘kingdom’ means today and on Friday ‘repent’ and ‘believe’. Let’s start with Gospel as Jesus was proclaiming the gospel. The gospel literally means good news, we thought about it a few weeks ago. There are the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and we can use the word to speak of these but there is also two further senses in which we can understand what the Gospel is. There is a narrow sense; the gospel is the saving work of Christ for sinners, it is a victory announcement. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 explains to us this narrow sense he preached in terms of the death and resurrection of Christ, the gospel is the good news of Jesus death and resurrection. But there is also a broader sense of what gospel means, for the “The gospel must be accepted, believed and obeyed” (1 Pet 4:17 also see 2 Thes 1:8). We are to believe and obey the gospel. The gospel is what has been done for us through Jesus Christ but the gospel also includes a response, the outworking of the gospel should be seen in our obedience, in how we live. Think of the words of Jesus in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18–20), where he commands his disciples to be disciple makers: here the gospel is first, in the narrow sense of calling men and women to believe in Jesus, but then he speaks in the broad sense of teaching these disciples to obey everything Jesus has commanded. That is what Mark has in mind here as he opens his account, is the gospel both in the narrow sense as well as the broad sense, for the gospel is the person and work of Jesus Christ but it is also the response to the gospel which means that we accept, believe and obey it. Next; Kingdom. As Jesus declared, “the time has come, the kingdom of God is near”, his proclamation was that God was decisively acting on behalf of his people bringing about the Kingdom in the person and work of himself Jesus Christ in this age. And this kingdom is both now and not yet, it is present and future. Here’s what I mean by that, that the kingdom is present because God’s kingdom consists of God’s rule over his people, he has given his King, Jesus and by his Spirit he gives to his people life. It means that we who are Christ’s who have responded to the gospel are citizens of heaven, we have heavenly citizenship by the fact that we have received Christ, this kingdom is here. And in the not yet, future sense, it is because we remain sojourners and exiles, we are awaiting the return of the King Christ to judge the living and the dead. It is our task as we respond to the gospel that means we accept, believe and obey it as John Calvin said to make the ‘invisible kingdom visible’. We do that by living in such a way that we bear witness to the reality of the kingship of Christ in our jobs, our families, our schools, and even our wallets, purses even apps, because God in Christ is King over every one of these spheres of life. The way the kingdom of God is going to be manifest in this world before Christ comes is as we manifest it by the way we live as citizens of heaven and subjects of the King, accepting, believing, and obeying the gospel. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q48 What are we specially taught by these words [before me] in the first commandment? These words [before me] in the first commandment teach us, That God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God. (Ezek. 8:5–6, Ps. 44:20–21) Year 2 Day 36
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 16v1-10 Message - Scott Woodburn Paul and Barnabas had gone their separate ways but the Lord would not let Paul minister alone. As Paul ministers in Derbe and Lystra, he comes across a young man called Timothy (v1). Timothy is from a mixed marriage with a Jewish mother and a Greek father (v1a) but the church in both Lystra and Iconium spoke well of the young man. He becomes part of Paul's team but with recent debates in mind Paul's first step is to have Timothy circumcised. What's going on? Wasn't Paul the one who had claimed that circumcision was not necessary for Christians? He certainly was and claims in Galatians that in Christ neither circumcision or uncircumcision mean anything but only faith in Christ (Galatians 5v6). So why circumcise Timothy? Soon the young man will be part of an evangelistic effort among the Jews (v3). Timothy's father was a Greek but his mother and grandmother were both Jews. For Timothy to be uncircumcised would suggest he had no regard for his Jewish heritage and certainly it would be a stumbling block for many of the Jews he was seeking to reach. Paul was not acting hypocritically nor was he suggesting that circumcision was required for salvation. Instead with the decision of the Jerusalem council in his mind he was seeking to be culturally sensitive so that many might be won for the Gospel. We can learn much from the Apostle. If we want to see many won for Christ we would do well to remove any hindrance or block to the Gospel. Our flags and traditions and ways are not as important as the eternal destination of those we are seeking to reach. As we seek to be sensitive to the culture around us we also remember that the work belongs to the Lord. The Holy Spirit prevents Paul from preaching the Gospel in Asia (v6-7). This Asia is either the northern coastline of Turkey or the Roman province of Asia which included the famous seven churches of Revelation. Regardless, the Lord had closed the door because His plan was for the Gospel to go to Macedonia. Paul was called by way of a vision to go and preach the Gospel in northern Greece (v9-10) and so the Apostle obeyed. Brothers and sisters, how often do we believe the work of the Gospel to be all about us? We build ministries and reputations for ourselves and as we look into the mirror we believe ourselves to be indispensable. May the Lord forgive our foolishness. May we seek to make much of the time that is given to us. May we refuse to make idols out of the temporary traditions of man and may we be prepared to go wherever the Lord leads. Psalm 115 remains true "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!" Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q47 What is forbidden in the first commandment? The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, or not worshipping and glorifying, the true God as God, and our God; and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone. Year 2 Day 35
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:14-15 Message - Alan Burke Do you remember those MP’s that fiddled there expenses and were making a small fortune and the fella who claimed £1,645 for a ‘duck island’, dirtbags. I can say that and know that no one is going to get upset with me for calling out the corrupt MP’s who fiddled their expenses after all there was a national outcry. Yet there are many other things that I could say that wouldn’t be popular, they would be true, they would be the teaching of scripture but I reckon our Facebook page would be canceled and I’d be called all of manner of things for speaking the truth. Here in Mark’s gospel were told John was put in prison and it was precisely for speaking the truth of God which is so unpopular in every age because it confronts people with their sin. Remember John had been baptising in the river Jordan a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and it was a message that lead him on a direct collision course with the powers that be. In Matthew 14 we are told why John was in prison, and it was because he wasn’t afraid to call out sin for what it was and is, he was imprisoned because he condemned the sin of Herod Antipas who was the ruler of Galilee. John condemned Herod’s sin in how he had divorced wife and married the divorced wife of his half brother Philip. This arrest reveals how the truth isn’t popular, and also forewarns us of what to expect for Jesus, that he too was on a collision course with the rules of this world and ultimately Satan. Herod Antipas likely thought he had dealt with that thorn in his flesh but in reality there was nothing he could do to stop the plans and purposes of God. The Lord God was using the sinful actions of Herod as part of his plan in bringing forth the kingdom, at the time it might have seemed that John was on the wrong side of history but the glorious truth is that he was not. For with John’s arrest Jesus came and proclaimed the good news of God, that is “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”. We will spend the next two devotions unpacking this but I want to leave you with two things. First, how the source of this good news is the Lord God himself, he is the source of the gospel. God is the source of this gospel. The gospel is of divine and not human origin, it is a gift from God. This is the message that Jesus was proclaiming. Secondly, God uses the actions of sinful people in this world to bring about his purposes. Even though John was languishing in prison God was using it all and I personally have been reassured and taken comfort in the knowledge that, for in what has happened in the Dáil in the South and the Assembly in the North recently you can see the wickedness of our leaders, where they not only call sin good but they celebrate it, yet we have a God who is at work. We may wonder what is going on, but we have a God who is at work using the actions of those opposed to him for his purposes, God by his providence is at work bringing his gospel to bear on the lives of people all over this world. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q46 What is required in the first commandment? The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God; (1 Chron. 28:9, Deut. 26:17) and to worship and glorify him accordingly. (Matt. 4:10, Ps. 29:2) Year 2 Day 33
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 15v22-41 Message - Scott Woodburn Jesus plus anything is not the Gospel and it is certainly not good news. Imagine your minister standing next Sunday declaring that Christ has done it all but now you need to do your bit. What a burden! Imagine an evangelist who urges you to trust in Christ and then keep the commandments fully to be saved. Who can do it? Not me and despite your good intentions, not you either. Jesus plus anything is not the Gospel and it is certainly not good news. Thankfully the letter sent from Jerusalem was full of good news. It acknowledged that some, who had no authority, had gone out and troubled the minds of the church (v24). They had sought to insist on law observance and circumcision as a necessity for salvation. Instead the letter offered no greater advice than "abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." (v29) The wisdom offered was not a path to salvation. Instead Christians were to be sensitive to one another and to flee from even a whiff of idolatry. They would do well to practice such things but they were to be clear that the Gospel was all of grace and did not require zealous law observance or circumcision. Luke tells us that when the letter was read in Antioch, the people rejoiced (v31). I think we have lost some of this in the modern church. We have become so accustomed to hearing the Gospel that it no longer thrills us as it should. Let me remind you brothers and sisters of why the church in Antioch rejoiced. The Gospel is not about what you have done or will do. The Gospel does not focus on your obedience. The Gospel has nothing to do with how good or how bad you are. The Gospel lifts our eyes to Christ and declares "Look to Jesus! Look to Jesus! He has done it all. His obedience was perfect. His sacrifice was enough. His blood has paid the price. Look to Jesus! Look to Jesus!" As this chapter closes we catch a wee glimpse of contention between Paul and Barnabas. John Mark had previously left Paul in the lurch and gone home (v38). Paul doesn't want John Mark to return whilst Barnabas wants John Mark (his cousin) to be brought back into the fold. The brothers go their separate ways with Barnabas going to Cyprus and Paul heading for Syria and Cilicia. Disagreements are not new in the church and they're always tragic but we can be thankful that the relationship is restored eventually (Colossians 4v10). We finish today by reminding ourselves that restoration is at the heart of the Gospel. We were once enemies of God but now we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Here's a wee challenge for you. Tomorrow morning get yourself to your church. I know all about Covid and there may seem to be thousands of reasons why you have yet to return to live worship, but tomorrow, go to your church. It is in that place that you hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not Christ plus, but Christ alone. Go to church, listen to the Gospel and rejoice at this extraordinary good news. We may have lost some of the wonder but may the Lord restore it to us when the morning comes. The Gospel stands true...Christ died for sinners! Rejoice! Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q45 Which is the first commandment? The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Year 2 Day 32
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:12-13, Hebrews 4:15 Message - Alan Burke All of us face temptations in so many ways, don’t we? Yet we are called to obedience to our God that’s what we thought about on Wednesday. Obedience to him should mean more than what we want, more than our comfort, more than having our perceived need met, more than our well being, more than our pleasure, for as Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mk 8:34-36). You may rightly say to me that I know nothing of what you face, I can never understand the temptations that you face and you are probably right but the good news is our Saviour can. In Hebrews we are reminded that; “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15). Our Lord and Saviour was tempted in every way but as without sin, we may think, well he wasn’t tempted in the way I am, he wasn’t tempted with the things I face, so then how was he tempted in every way? He was tempted in every way because behind his temptations throughout his life, he experienced temptations that were real and beyond our understanding, greater temptations that we will ever face and at each point he resisted, he overcame. He knew what it was like to be tempted, he was fully human, yet he never sinned. He can sympathise with us in our weakness because he experienced what we experience and now he at the Father’s right hand intercedes for us, speaking on our behalf (Heb 7:25). The temptations that Jesus faced that we summed on in the words ‘pleasure, pride and power’ are temptations that we all face, but the point is not to be like Jesus, instead look to this Jesus who overcame Satan for you. Stop trying to do it in your own strength to resist temptation, instead look to him in what we face, the one who is able to sympathise with us our weaknesses. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q44 What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us? The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, That because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. (Luke 1:74–75, 1 Pet. 1:15–18) Year 2 Day 31
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 15v1-21 Message - Scott Woodburn We've already seen in Acts that the church was not going through a golden age in the years after Christ's Ascension. They knew problems, splits, false teaching and theological debates. As a new chapter begins we see once again some from a Jewish background stating that “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (v1). Paul and Barnabas completely disagreed (v2a) but it was arranged for them to travel to Jerusalem to put this question to the Apostles and elders (v2b). As they travelled and told many about the conversion of the Gentiles there was great rejoicing (v3), but still when they arrived in Jerusalem some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” (v5). So the stage is set. The question is clear. To be saved does someone have to keep the law of Moses? Do we need Jesus plus? Peter stood first and reminded the council that he had been chosen to take the Gospel to the Gentiles (v7). Indeed God had given the Gentiles the gift of the Holy Spirit and had cleansed their hearts by faith (v9). Peter understood the Gospel. It was by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. To add anything to the Gospel was to put God to the test and to place a yoke on the necks of Christians that no one has ever been able to bear (v10). Paul and Barnabas were able to testify about the great work that had been done among the Gentiles (v12) and then James stood and took the council into the Word of God. Quoting directly from Amos 9v11-12, James was clear that the prophets had predicted the calling of the Gentiles (v12). Therefore new Christians shouldn't be troubled with keeping the law of Moses for their salvation. Practically new converts should be encouraged not to have anything to do with idol worship (v20a). They should remain sexually pure (v20b). They shouldn't eat animals that have been strangled to death (v20c). This seems strange to us but James knows that such an animal will not have all of its blood drained. To eat such food would potentially cause division among Jewish and Gentile believers and therefore sensitivity to one another should be essential. Moses is read weekly in the synagogues (v21) and so the church should be sensitive to the culture it found itself in. James' response is mature in seeking to bring harmony to a multicultural church but the council at Jerusalem couldn't be more clear. The Gospel is all of grace and no barriers should be placed in front of new converts. Brothers and sisters nothing has changed. The Gospel says that Christ died for sinners and was raised for their justification. The response to the Gospel is to repent of sin and trust in Christ. We should act towards other Christians with grace and sensitivity but we should never compromise the Gospel. Jesus plus anything is not the Gospel. "Do this and live" is not the Gospel. "Do more" is not the Gospel. Here is the Gospel "For our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5v21) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q43 What is the preface to the ten commandments? The preface to the ten commandments is in these words, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Year 2 Day 30
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 1:12-13 Message - Alan Burke We are told here how Jesus was immediately driven out into the wilderness after his baptism to be tempted by Satan with the angels attending him afterwards. What we are not told are the temptations that he faced or if Jesus was victorious, for Mark wants us to understand that Jesus faced temptation not only at the beginning of his public ministry in this ’40 day’ temptation throughout his life as Satan endeavoured to subvert God’s great plan of salvation. While we are not told here the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness we are told in Matthews gospel account (Matt 4:1-11), as Satan tempts Jesus to turn the stones into bread (Mt 4:3), to throw himself down from the highest point (Mt 4:6) and the top of a mountain offered the kingdoms of the world (Mt 4:8-9). It may not sound like a lot or a big deal but remember Jesus faced starvation that most of us can barely even comprehend. The three temptations he can be summed up in the words ‘pleasure, pride and power’, these are three temptations that we all face and they are the very stuff of our dreams. Yet in each temptation Jesus chose obedience to the Father. Jesus chose obedience! In a world that says that’s it’s all about our comfort, having our perceived needs met, our well being, our pleasure, Jesus does something that goes totally opposite to our self centred nature and choose obedience. More important than anything he was offered by Satan was obedience to the Father. For us, likewise God’s will and obedience to Him should mean more than what we want, more than our comfort, more than having our perceived need met, more than our well being, more than our pleasure. The example of our saviour is that of obedience. We can be tempted to sin even in the good things of this life, and for all of us even the very highest and best ends do not justify operating contrary to God's will. That’s so important for all of us to know and that’s what Jesus made clear. Satan though tries to get us to go after good things for the wrong reasons, to tempt us into things that are good but without the cost, I want to leave you with the words of Jesus in Mark 8:34-38 where he says… “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels””. We are called to obedience. The Westminster Shorter Catechism sums up what is required of us, in Question 39 up What is the duty which God requires of man? The duty which God requires of man, is obedience to his revealed will. (Mic. 6:8, 1 Sam. 15:22). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q42 What is the sum of the ten commandments? The sum of the ten commandments is, To love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbour as ourselves. (Matt. 22:37–40) Year 2 Day 29
Pray (ACts) Read - Acts 14v19-28 Message - Scott Woodburn Those of you of an Edengrove persuasion will know all about Robert Irvine. He was our minister for a short time in the 1800s before making his way to 1st Presbyterian, Augusta, Georgia. If you visit that church you will find a statue of Irvine outside. There's no statue of him in Ballynahinch but once upon a time, some locals did seek to burn an effigy of Irvine before blowing up the remains with gun powder just outside the Market House. I suspect when its all said and done we would much rather have a statue than to have a mob who seeks to do us harm. Unfortunately, that choice is not ours. Paul and Barnabas continued to exercise faithful Gospel ministry. Sinners were saved (v21), Christians were encouraged (v22) and the church was established (v23) and yet as chapter 14 closes, we also discover that in Lystra, Paul had been stoned and dragged outside the city and left for dead (v19). A modern TV preacher might skip that verse. Everyone knows that if we have enough faith then nothing bad will ever happen to us. Right? Wrong. We reject any message that says the Christian life is all about health, wealth and prosperity. Brothers and sisters, as you well know, sometimes the Christian life is incredibly hard. Christians are washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, but that blood doesn't stop them from getting Covid as some have believed over the past year. Christians hear every single day about a cancer diagnosis. They hear that their job is under threat. They stand in graveyards and weep like everyone else. We have been redeemed but Jesus is clear that in this world we will have trouble. I don't want a hall named after me, nor do I want a statue. Equally though, I don't want my effigy to be burnt outside the Market House in Ballynahinch. If I tell the truth of my sinful heart, I want a quiet and peaceful life. I'd prefer no boats to be rocked. I want to celebrate my 100th birthday. I want to be fit and well and playing golf in my 80s like those auld lads on TV. I want to keep my teeth and my hair and hopefully I'll die in my own warm bed after retiring from a 40 year ministry in 1st Presbyterian, Augusta, Georgia. Brothers and sisters, please don't mock me nor pity my foolishness. I'm willing to state that I suspect you would rather have the easy path. Am I right? Perhaps this last wee bit is just for me or perhaps it will speak to many, regardless, hear what a beaten, stoned, left for dead Apostle reminded the church - "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." (v22) The one who has received Christ by faith will not be lost. We will not slip through the Lord's fingers. He will certainly not leave us nor forsake us. We will cross the finish line and we will see glory. Yet also certain is that the road ahead will be beset on all sides with tribulation and heartache. Hurting and wounded child of God may you know the Lord's help and strength today. I know that this day may not be easy but much more importantly - God knows. The One who has begun the work in you, will certainly bring it to completion at the day of Christ. Hear the Word of your Saviour. "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world." (John 16v33) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q41 Where is the moral law summarily comprehended? The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments. |
Alan
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